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Inequality in Pupils' Test Scores: How Much do Family, Sibling Type and Neighbourhood Matter?
Author(s) -
Nicoletti Cheti,
Rabe Birgitta
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
economica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.532
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1468-0335
pISSN - 0013-0427
DOI - 10.1111/ecca.12010
Subject(s) - neighbourhood (mathematics) , sibling , dizygotic twins , inequality , psychology , demography , developmental psychology , test (biology) , medicine , mathematics , sociology , mathematical analysis , paleontology , obstetrics , biology
We explore the relative influence of family and neighbourhood on pupils' test scores and how this varies by sibling type. Using English register data we find that the neighbourhood explains at most 10–15% of the variance in pupils' test scores, whereas the variance explained by family is between 44% and 54% at the end of primary school and between 47% and 61% at the end of compulsory schooling. The family influence is significantly higher for identical twins. It is also higher for dizygotic twins than for non‐twin siblings brought up at different times and therefore experiencing varying family circumstances.